Champagne house Ruinart has been collaborating with artists and designers for a few years, joining forces with creative talent to bring to life the inspiration and history behind their products. After working with Maarten Baas, Hervé Van der Straeten, Nendo and Piet Hein Eek – among others – the company enlisted Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf to create a body of work which adorned a dedicated champagne bar during Frieze Masters. The photographer immersed himself in the house of Ruinart, and was invited to create an expressive oeuvre that embodies the spirit of Ruinart and celebrates the 120th anniversary of their first collaboration, with Czech artist Alphonse Mucha in 1896.
Better known for his sleek, staged and intricately produced images, Olaf’s initial idea was more in line with his extant work, but a visit to the company’s cellars changed his mind, he explains. ‘When I was in the cellars, I noticed something I had not seen before: there were drawings, signs of nature, signatures carved in the stone, machines, bottles, so I started to photograph these elements, isolate them.’ Olaf drew from his journalistic background and produced a series of black and white images that highlight these traces of human life.
Olaf sees a strong connection between the light and dark dichotomy of photography with what Ruinart does.
‘I returned five times into the cellars,’ says Olaf, who created the work over the course of two years, ‘each time isolating pieces, looking for references.’ Soon he found that these anonymous traces had similarities with modern and contemporary art: a series of bottle racks resembled works created by the Zero movement; other shadows on the walls (or imprecisions in the plaster), once captured reminded him of Rothko, Seurat or Damien Hirst. The collection of images is as much an exploration of his own approach as a photographer as it is a testimony of time and human passage in the Ruinart cellars. ‘I had to explore myself as well, because this was something I had never made before – [to] take a piece of wall, photograph it. I would say that is the closest I could come to my own art.’
For champagne, this is a radically different approach; a drink that is so much about light, universally thought of as gold and sparkly, is identified via a series of moody, dark images. ‘The vineyards are about light, the cellars are about darkness,’ explains Olaf, who sees a strong connection between the light and dark dichotomy of photography with what Ruinart does. ‘Photos, like champagne,' he concludes, 'need darkness to find light.’
Descending into Ruinart's cellars, Olaf drew from his journalistic background to produce a series of black and white images that highlight traces of human life
‘I returned five times into the cellars,’ says Olaf, who created the work over the course of two years, ‘each time isolating pieces, looking for references’.
The collection of images is as much an exploration of his own approach as a photographer as it is a testimony of time and human passage in the cellars
‘I had to explore myself as well, because this was something I had never made before – [to] take a piece of wall, photograph it,' says Olaf. 'I would say that is the closest I could come to my own art’
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Ruinart website
-
Unlike the gloriously grotesque imagery in his films, Yorgos Lanthimos’ photographs are quietly beautifulAn exhibition at Webber Gallery in Los Angeles presents Yorgos Lanthimos’ photography
-
Remembering architect David M Childs (1941-2025) and his New York skyline legacyDavid M Childs, a former chairman of architectural powerhouse SOM, has passed away. We celebrate his professional achievements
-
At the Institute of Indology, a humble new addition makes all the differenceContinuing the late Balkrishna V Doshi’s legacy, Sangath studio design a new take on the toilet in Gujarat
-
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next yearTate’s 2026 programme includes 'Frida: The Making of an Icon', which will trace the professional and personal life of countercultural figurehead Frida Kahlo
-
A portrait of the artist: Sotheby’s puts Grayson Perry in the spotlightFor more than a decade, photographer Richard Ansett has made Grayson Perry his muse. Now Sotheby’s is staging a selling exhibition of their work
-
From counter-culture to Northern Soul, these photos chart an intimate history of working-class Britain‘After the End of History: British Working Class Photography 1989 – 2024’ is at Edinburgh gallery Stills
-
Celia Paul's colony of ghostly apparitions haunts Victoria MiroEerie and elegiac new London exhibition ‘Celia Paul: Colony of Ghosts’ is on show at Victoria Miro until 17 April
-
Teresa Pągowska's dreamy interpretations of the female form are in London for the first time‘Shadow Self’ in Thaddaeus Ropac’s 18th-century townhouse gallery in London, presents the first UK solo exhibition of Pągowska’s work
-
Sylvie Fleury's work in dialogue with Matisse makes for a provocative exploration of the female form'Drawing on Matisse, An Exhibition by Sylvie Fleury’ is on show until 2 May at Luxembourg + Co
-
What to see at BFI Flare film festival, 'a rich tapestry of queer experience'As one of the only film festivals to explicitly profile LGBTQI+ cinema, BFI Flare Film Festival remains a unique and beloved event. Here's what to see as it makes its return to London from 19 - 30 March
-
The enduring appeal of Transport for London’s seat designsFrom artist Rita Keegan’s new collage to fashion designer Adam Jones’ Overground suit, TfL moquettes continue to enjoy a cult status
